Link's Story
by Rachelle Davison
Summary: When Navi reappears and strange things begin to happen, Link embarks on a whole new adventure, soon finding an unlikely friend. (First person.)
1. Chapters 1 + 2

1 A/N: This was a story I started around eight months ago, before I'd really gotten 'into' writing fan fics. As a result, you may or may not notice that it's a little substandard as far as my writing goes. Or, you may not notice at all. I dunno. In any case, lots of time went into this (my typing speed had increased dramatically since then, I wager), so I hope that you can take around 30 seconds of your day to leave a review. Please?  
  
Disclaimer: Just in case you DIDN'T know, I do not own these characters, fortunately for the rest of the gaming industry.  
  
Ah well, forget the formalities, onwards to the ficcy!  
  
2  
  
3 Link's Story  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Hello. I'm Link. Link no last name. No, I'm not trying to act cool, or be difficult; I just never knew my last name. I suppose I had one once, back when I was about two years of age, before my father took off and my mother died. But I don't think having no last name matters much here in Nintendo Land. Have you ever heard anyone refer to Pikachu by its last name? Or even Mario, come to think of it? I don't think so. They don't have last names either. Well, Mario does have a surname, but it's the same as his first. Mario Mario. But you get my point, right?  
  
Anyway, I was brought up as a Kokiri, a race of children. Kokiri never grow up, and neither can they leave the forest, they will become old and eventually die. At least, that seems to be the most reasonable answer. It is an old Kokiri legend that any Kokiri who leaves the forest dies instantly, but they never go out, so this legend remains unproven. Since the Kokiri never die of old age, their population has remained almost the same as it was when Hyrule was first created by the three Goddesses; Din, Farore and Nayru. Permitting, of course, disease, but this is rarely an issue. Most of the Kokiri are as old as time, but still have the spirit of a child. They don't know much about the outside world, so they keep record of all things out of the ordinary, this makes up their history.  
  
How do I know all of this about the Kokiri? Well, I told you that the first ten years of my life were spent in Kokiri Forest, being raised by the Kokiri, and most of this stuff is common knowledge for them.  
  
I was about ten years of age when the Great Deku Tree, the guardian of the Kokiri people, summoned me, and my journey to save Hyrule from Ganondorf began. I whizzed through countless quests and eventually, and the age of seventeen, defeated Ganondorf and locked him inside the sacred realm, with the help of the seven sages.  
  
Well, you can imagine that I was feeling better right after I defeated Ganondorf, but my happiness was short lived. Princess Zelda made me fork over the Ocarina of Time and turned me back into a ten-year-old. The only up side to this was that the whole mess with Ganondorf never actually happened. Although no one remembers anything of those seven years when Ganondorf took over Hyrule, he was and is still locked inside this the sacred realm. The only ones who have any knowledge of the whole thing are the Sages, Navi, and of course, me.  
  
I have been able to obtain all of my original weaponry over time, minus the Master Sword. Instead I now have a gilded sword, along with a few interesting masks from Termina, but that's a long story. I had the Ocarina of Time for that adventure only to have to return it upon returning to Hyrule.  
  
I only just recently got the Ocarina of Time itself back again, but I should stop boring you with this senseless recount about now.  
  
The true story I'm about to tell you all started one foggy morning about two months ago.  
  
***  
  
Chapter 2  
  
  
  
I was deep in a strange dream, which seemed to involve me being back on Koholint Island. I was back in the photo hut arguing with the mouse photographer.  
  
"But I don't want my picture taken!" I protested.  
  
"You are going to have your picture taken," he said, too firmly for my liking. I instinctively reached for my sword, but resisted the urge to give the photographer a swipe.  
  
"I will not!" I yelled, and ran out of the photo hut.  
  
I ran and ran as fast as I could, but that annoying rodent kept up with me, and I soon reached a large hole, which was blocking my path completely. The mouse-photographer almost right behind me, I momentarily forgot about Roc's Feather,* and attempted to jump the hole.  
  
(*= Link needs Roc's feather to jump while on Koholint Island)  
  
I heard the soft *click* followed by a camera flash almost immediately after trying to jump.  
  
I fell. Down, down, it seemed like forever, and I knew the landing would not be pleasant. I hit the ground with a dull THUMP and a loud "Ouch!" which had not come from me.  
  
As I struggled to get to my feet, I wondered two things.  
  
A) Since when do dirt floors talk, or, for that matter, even feel pain?  
  
B) What had softened my landing?  
  
As I had predicted, my landing had been unpleasant, but not as painful as I had thought. As I turned around, I found why.  
  
"Princess Toadstool!?" I exclaimed, but rushed to help her up. Then I bombarded her with questions. "Are you ok?" I asked, "How did you get to Koholint? Why are you here? Is Mario here too?"  
  
"Which question do you want me to answer first?" she gasped, obviously still winded from my landing on her. But she regained her composure and began to answer my questions.  
  
"Well, first of all," she began, "Mario is not here. He's out playing Mario Party 2 with a few friends. I couldn't help feeling a little resentful at not having been invited, but Peach continued. "I got here by riding on a Fearow, and-"  
  
"A Fearow?" I inquired, as I fought back the urge to laugh. The Princess blushed a little.  
  
"Humiliating, I know." She sighed, "But it was an emergency, and I had to go through Kanto* to get to Koholint Island"  
  
(*=Kanto is the "Old World" of Pokemon)  
  
"Huh?" I demanded, "What kind of emergency?"  
  
"Well, err," she faltered. " This is kind of hard to say."  
  
"Spit it out," I ordered. This was no time to worry about manners.  
  
"Um, it's about Ganondorf," She managed.  
  
"Well, what about him?" I did not like the sound of this.  
  
"He's. Back."  
  
***  
  
A/N: Yeah, yeah, I know it was short. There's more, ok?! Just click your way to the next chapter, so you can stop reading my self-insertion and focus your attention towards the actual fic. ( 


	2. Chapters 3 + 4

A/N: Yup, we're already in to chapter three. I skooshed the first two together 'cuz they were so short, and chapter four is plastered to three as well. Hey, less loading time for you, right?  
  
Chapter 3  
  
"No!" I shouted instantly.  
  
"It's true," Peach whispered. She looked as if she regretted having to be the one to tell me this. "He's loose in Hyrule somewhere."  
  
"You can't be serious," I said weakly, but the look in her eyes told me that she was not lying or playing some cruel joke.  
  
"Well, I can handle him," I took care of him last time, didn't I?"  
  
"That's just the problem," Peach said. "He's spent all these years in the Sacred Realm steadily gaining power. Now that the gate between worlds has been opened, he's stronger."  
  
"I'll take care of him," I said again, trying to sound confident. I wasn't succeeding.  
  
"Though I don't know how he got out, Ganondorf is loose once more, somewhere in Hyrule," she continued. ''They need you. They-"  
  
***  
  
"Aaah!" I woke up with a shout.  
  
"Whoa!" I heard a startled cry answering my frightened one. "Hey!" said the voice. It sounded oddly familiar."You scared me! C'mon Link, Hyrule needs you!"  
  
"N-N-Navi?" I asked shakily.  
  
"You bet!" she answered. "It's me!"  
  
"It's great to see you again!" I cried. "But, where have you been all these seven years?"  
  
"No time for that now," Navi answered. "Princess Zelda wants to see you. She says it's urgent." I whipped out my fairy ocarina.  
  
"You know, I really miss the Ocarina of Time," I commented as I began to play the Prelude of Light, a mysterious melody that would warp me to the Temple of Time.  
  
I started running the moment I hit the cold stone floor of the Temple of Time.  
  
"Hey!" Navi exclaimed. "Wait for me!" As I waited for Navi to catch up, I wondered what could possibly be so important that Princess Zelda needed to get Navi to come fetch me.  
  
"Slow down, Linky!" puffed Navi as she finally caught up. I'm sure my face turned bright red. Navi took one look at me and nearly fell out of the air laughing.  
  
"You know, Link," she said laughing. "The last time I saw you in that particular shade of maroon it was when you accidentally walked in on that gut taking a bath!"  
  
"You know, I could arrange for you to die laughing," I muttered as the two of us walked to Princess Zelda's castle.  
  
As I stepped into the castle of the Royal Family, I looked around and saw Princess Zelda waiting for me.  
  
"Hello Link," she said. "I have something to tell you. Something important."  
  
"Is this about your kitchen sink again?" I sighed. "You know, Zelda, I can only fix the thing so many times."  
  
"But-"  
  
"This is what, the third time?" I continued. "I mean it just keeps breaking down again, or springing a leak."  
  
"But Link, I-"  
  
"No buts about it. We have to get that sink fixed permanently. Mario's a plumber, right? Maybe I could give him a call and-"  
  
"Are you quite finished?" the princess broke in. "This is not about my sink, it's more important than that."  
  
"Well, that's good, because I was really not looking forward to sticking my arm down there to dislodge-" the look on Zelda's face stopped me dead.  
  
"Finally," she said. "As I was about to say before you started blabbing on about the sink, this is about Ganondorf." *That* got my attention.  
  
"That's better," Zelda sighed. "As I was saying, Ganondorf may have somehow escaped from the sacred realm. We don't know how, why or even if he's out for sure. What we do know is that a lot of strange, unexplained things are happening. Lake Hylia has run dry again. Death Mountain is once again ablaze. Or to be more precise, the ring of clouds around Death Mountain is on fire again. The other sages have noticed odd things happening in their temples, too."  
  
"Is that all of it?" I asked.  
  
"Yes," she replied. "Hey! What are you doing?" she demanded as I pulled my ocarina out.  
  
'I'm going to the Forest Temple," I said. "You know, the Minuet of the Forest?"  
  
"Duh," Navi added. "  
  
"Wait!" Zelda shouted. But it was too late. I had finished playing the song even as Navi spoke and was being transported to the Lost Woods before Zelda could even finish her one-word sentence.  
  
I started looking around as soon as I landed on the "warp pad" of the Forest Temple. Warp pads are the quickest way to travel from place to place, or to be more precise, form Temple to temple, because each warp pad is located near a temple. This one, for example, was in the Lost Woods, the closest location to the Forest Temple. By playing each temple's specific song on the ocarina, the user is instantly transported to the temple's warp pad.  
  
"Saria?" I called out. I didn't have to look for long, however. Saria was sitting on a nearby stump, playing her ocarina. "Saria, I need-"  
  
I didn't get the chance to finish, because at that moment, Zelda materialized on the warp pad that I was currently standing on, pushing me out of the way. Which, consequently, made fall hard on my butt.  
  
"Oww." I commented.  
  
Zelda looked around. "Link!" she called out. "You forgot som-" she looked down. "Oh, there you are."  
  
"Yeah, I'm here," I said, quickly picking myself off the ground. "So, what is so important that you had to come knock me on my butt to tell me?" I inquired.  
  
"Did I do that? Sorry." she apologized, quickly changing the subject. "Anyway, what I need to tell you or rather give you, is this." She pulled an egg-shaped object out. "The Ocarina of Time?" I asked, somewhat awed. I mean, I hadn't seen that thing in seven years!  
  
"Yes" she said. "If all of these odd events are leading to what I think they are leading to, you may need it. Take it." I took it.  
  
"I must go now," she said. She threw a deku nut, temporarily blinding me. When I looked up again, she was gone.  
  
"Link!" someone called. It was Saria. I walked over to her. "I was hoping you'd come," she said. "Something is wrong in the Forest Temple."  
  
  
  
Chapter 4  
  
  
  
"What's wrong in the Forest Temple?" I asked.  
  
"Well," she began, "It's as if Phantom Ganon is back. The Poe Sisters stole those torches, you know, the torches that operate the elevator. There are monsters running amok in the temple itself, too."  
  
"What kinds of monsters?" I interrupted.  
  
"Skulltullas, Octoroks, Wallmasters." she went on to list almost every kind of enemy I had ever heard of, give or take a couple. "And since the elevator isn't working, I can't even check the basement floor, so I don't know if this is Phantom Ganon's fault."  
  
"Nothing I can't handle," I said, although the prospect of so many enemies gathered all in one Temple was a little unnerving. "I'll be back before sundown," I promised as I headed towards the Forest Temple.  
  
One problem, though. The huge stone staircase that had once lead to the Temple's front door, had long ago crumbled away, leaving no obvious way inside, except maybe climbing up the tree which stood beside the place where the old staircase used to be.  
  
However, this tree was not climbing material. It had only one branch, which was attached to almost the very top of the tree. The branch hung over the top of the staircase, providing a perfect hookshot target. This seemed to be the only way in. Since I had been to the Forest Temple before, (well not technically, but anyway,) I was aware that this was in fact the only way in.  
  
I aimed my hookshot at the branch and fired. It pulled my up to the branch, enabling me to safely jump to the top of the staircase, which was now the only part still remaining. This left me beside the door. I was about to step inside, when I heard Saria calling me.  
  
"Wait Link!" she called.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"There's a certain Wolfos you should watch out for. He's a little bigger than the other wolfos, and has bright blue eyes.  
  
"Why, is it more dangerous than the others?"  
  
"No, nothing like that. He's my friend."  
  
"Your . . . friend," I repeated.  
  
"Yes. His name is Mishrak. I managed to tame him a while back. He's as harmless as a cucco now." "Cuccos aren't that harmless," I pointed out.  
  
"Well, if you aren't poking them with a sword they are!" I blushed a little at that, but I think I was high enough up that she couldn't see me.  
  
"Anyways, he's the leader of his pack, which should help you out if you happen to run into that particular pack of wolfos. Oh, and Link?" she asked.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Be careful, okay?"  
  
"I will," I assured her, and stepped inside the passageway leading to the front courtyard of the Forest Temple.  
  
***  
  
I wasn't inside the courtyard for two minutes when I found the welcoming committee. A pack of about four wolfos greeted me at the doorstep, and I knew that this wasn't just out of courtesy.  
  
"You don't suppose one of them is Mishrak?" I asked Navi. I really wasn't in the mood to fight wolfos. They are masters at blocking sword attacks; you have to hit them while they are attacking or retreating. And their annoying howls are distracting, trying to confuse you. They aren't hard to beat if you time your attacks right, but if you are in a hurry, the best thing to do is to just avoid them. This didn't seem to be an option, however. These four wolfos seemed to be set on keeping me from entering.  
  
"Nope," Navi answered. "No oversized wolfos with blue eyes in that pack."  
  
The wolfos that must have been the leader grunted, signaling the others to attack. The two foremost wolfos lunged at me, while another one backed up a little, becoming camouflaged in the shadows. I fended them off fairly easily, but they weren't dead yet, just evasive, blocking most of my attacks. I tried to focus on blocking the one and attacking the other. It looked as if I had the first one, when the third wolfos joined in. Three at once! I used a sword spin, emitting a blast of magic in a circular pattern around me. Everything was a blur of sword and teeth, claws and fur. And blood. Hopefully not mine, but I was to caught up in the battle to feel pain at the moment.  
  
Finally, it was over. The three wolfos let out a howl of defeat and vanished in a cloud of blue smoke. "Whew!" said Navi. "They almost had a fair fight. No match for you, of course."  
  
"Yeah," I gasped. I gave myself a once over. Nothing badly damaged, maybe a couple of scratches. But wait. Weren't there four of them? What had happened to the last wolfos?  
  
Suddenly, a noise behind me! I turned slowly, expecting to see the fourth wolfos. Instead, I was almost face to face with a moblin, ready to bring down his club. I jumped out of the way just in time, grimacing at the dent the club had made in the ground. That could have been me.  
  
The moblin swung his club again, but I dodged and hit him with the hookshot, and he was down instantly. He disappeared in yet another cloud of smoke, leaving behind a bottle of potion. I grabbed it and stepped inside the front door. 


	3. Chapters 5 + 6

A/N: In continuing with my two chapters per page theme, here's chapters five and six!  
  
Chapter 5  
  
As I walked down the hallway, something caught my eye. Actually, it was pretty hard not to notice it. A big, overgrown spider in the shape of a skull watched me from its perch on the ceiling. A skulltula. When I said big, I mean BIG, too. A skulltula is at least as big as the average person, and pretty intimidating. That is, unless you happen to know that the skulltula is more bark than it is bite. Sure, they can give you a bit of a sting, throwing you backwards while they're at it, but they can be easily taken down from a distance. I aimed my hookshot at it and it went down with a single hit. It fell to the ground and disappeared. I continued on and stepped into the next room, which was, consequently, the "heart" of the Forest Temple.  
  
I scanned the main room, and sure enough, the four torches, which usually keep the elevator running, were put out. If my memory served me correctly, the torches' flames were probably in the possession on the Poe Sisters; Amy, Jo, Beth, and Meg. I had an idea of where to find them, maybe in a picture frame. At least, in my "past experiences," the first three sisters liked to pretend they were pictures, hiding in a frame.  
  
Aside from the flameless torches and the out-of-commission elevator, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. And yet, something in this room made me uneasy. What was it? I looked around again, finding nothing. All I saw was couple of doors, which were all locked. I tried to focus, just listened for a minute. I heard nothing except for the rhythmic background music and the sound of Navi's wings. Wait, that was it. The music. Something was wrong with it, something... different.  
  
"Hey, Navi," I said suddenly. "Do you hear that sound?"  
  
"What?" she asked. She listened for a minute. "You mean that swishing sound?"  
  
"Yeah. It sounds like it's coming from right . . . above . . ."  
  
I looked up. There was a torch, floating in the air close to the ceiling. "Torches don't just float like that," Navi observed.  
  
"Thank you, Navi," I replied sarcastically. "I really had no idea that torches were not supposed to float in mid air all by themselves." Navi didn't answer.  
  
Suddenly, it clicked. "Show yourself, poe!" I yelled. A poe materialized, her hand carrying the torch.  
  
"I was wondering how long it would take for you to figure it out," she giggled. It was Amy, the  
  
youngest of the Poe Sisters.  
  
"Hello, Amy," I sighed.  
  
"Hello, Link," she replied, "Long time, no see."  
  
"What?" I asked, surprised. "How... How do you..."  
  
"How do I remember you?" She finished for me. "Well, I am a ghost, after all. Ghosts can remember everything. Past, present, even a little bit of the future. Or things that happened, and yet at the same time did not happen."  
  
"So, you can remember what was actually erased after I beat Ganon." I realized. "Which means that you also remember fighting me. You know that in one-on-one combat, you'll lose."  
  
"Very good!" she applauded. "So you're not so dense after all. Yes, I do remember losing to you. That's why I'm trying a different approach this time. I won't make the same mistakes twice."  
  
"No," I agreed. "You're probably going to make new ones." I grabbed for my bow, and quickly fired an arrow in her direction. Too quickly. The arrow missed its mark by about a foot.  
  
"Ha!" Amy laughed. "You're not a very good marksman, are you?"  
  
"That's what you think," I muttered under my breath. I fired another arrow. This one hit its mark. Amy dropped the torch, clutching her middle.  
  
"No!" she exclaimed. The torch itself dropped to the ground and abruptly disappeared. It's flame, however, stayed floating in the air, gently drifting over to one of the torches that were supposed to run the elevator. With one of the four torches lit, the room seemed somewhat brighter.  
  
"You . . ." Amy gasped. "I was only careless! I'll get you next time!" And with that, she disappeared. Not defeated, I was sure of that. I knew I'd be seeing her again soon. However, she did leave another thing behind. A large, silver key. I quickly grabbed it. I would need it, since every other door in the room was locked.  
  
Chapter 6  
  
I randomly picked a door, the one on my right. This door led into another section of courtyard.  
  
"Well," I started, "What do I-"  
  
"Shh!" Navi whispered. "There's someone here!" Sure enough, she was right. I could hear voices coming from around the corner. I wasn't close enough to understand, so I edged a little closer.  
  
"Wait, guys!" a voice said. "You got it all wrong!" I peeked around the corner, and an odd sight met my eyes. A mob of Stalfos, maybe five or six, had cornered someone, or something. But whatever it was I couldn't see it, because the stalfos were blocking my view. Stalfos are skeletons, fallen warriors with unfinished buisness. Each equipped with a sword and shield, they are one of the more challenging enemies. Timing is everything with these guys, or they could block your hit.  
  
"Really!" the voice said again, more pleading this time. "It wasn't my fault!"  
  
"Yeah, right," grunted one of the stalfos. "Just like it wasn't your fault last time." I could see that the mob was focusing on whatever it was they had cornered, so I chanced stepping out into the open. Nothing. They probably wouldn't have noticed if a bomb had exploded from behind them.  
  
Now that I was almost right behind them, I could see that what they had cornered was a Deku Scrub. One of the stalfos challenged it while the others watched on in amusement. "I say we teach him a lesson," the leader said, indicating the quivering Deku Scrub.  
  
"Yeah!" another agreed, and the leader brought down his sword. He missed on purpose. They were teasing it! Poking and kicking at it. The little Deku started spitting deku nuts in defense. The leader stalfos blocked them with his shield, and the mob began to laugh as the deku nuts bounced away harmlessly. What could a little deku scrub do to them?  
  
Suddenly, the leader froze in mid-laugh. Literally. One of the deku nuts hit home, briefly freezing the closest stalfos, the leader of the group. The whole mob silenced. The leader snapped back to his senses, shaking himself.  
  
"You'll pay for that!" he promised. He raised his sword. The deku scrub grimaced, bracing itself for the swipe that would end it all.  
  
I couldn't just stand back and watch. He'd kill it! On the other hand, a mob of six stalfos is nothing to laugh at. I weighed the two choices.  
  
"It's just a deku scrub, Link," Navi said. "It's none of your buisness anyway. Just leave it alone..." She sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than me. I had already made up my mind anyway.  
  
"This is why you will regret ever knowing me!" The leader yelled.  
  
"I don't think so!" I yelled back. Everything stopped as four, five, all six stalfos turned to look at me.  
  
"Did you say something, worm?" The leader scowled, but he took his sword away from the deku scrub. It breathed a small sigh of relief, but still looked terrified.  
  
"Yes," I answered. "I did. You'd better pick on someone your own size!"  
  
"Like you, for instance?" He snarled back.  
  
"Exactly," With all of the Stalfos currently facing me, the deku began to edge away. It tiptoed to the edge of the mob, then raced as fast as it could over to me, trying to hide behind me. The mob began to close in on me.  
  
I was a little less cocky now. I had fought stalfos before, even as many as three at a time once. But six?  
  
The leader lunged at me. Navi turned bright red, and flew in front of the undead skeleton's face, blinding him. He missed me, and hit the dirt. I was starting to think that maybe this wouldn't be so bad. The other five of the stalfos were merely watching their leader and I duke it out, waiting to see who would win.  
  
While he was still trying to get his bony butt back off the ground, I took the opportunity to hack him with my sword. Enraged, he quickly got to his feet and delivered a retaliating blow with his sword.  
  
"Argh!" I grunted. The skeletal warrior's cocky smile faded as I jumped back up and stuck him once, twice, three more times with my sword. And yet, he was still standing! It was obvious why this guy had been appointed leader, he seemed a lot stronger than the average stalfos.  
  
So far, the deku scrub had been cowering behind a nearby bush. It was shaking like a leaf, watching the battle. It wasn't going to be of any help.  
  
The stalfos recovered from the blows surprisingly fast, and hit me in the side of the head with the blunt of his sword. The next thing I knew, I was down on the ground.  
  
"Link!" Navi cried. She rushed at the leader's face, distracting him for the moment. I used that moment to get back to my feet, but the world was spinning. I saw at least four identical stalfos in front of me, each one trying to shoo the fairy that was Navi. I knew I wouldn't be able to hurt him until I fully recovered from the hit. It was time to use another approach. I took out my Nayru's love crystal and activated it, forming a protective barrier around me.  
  
The leader finally managed to get rid of Navi. He smirked, seeing that I was still dizzy. I took it that he didn't realize what the blue thing around me was. Even as my head started to clear up a little, I saw a blurry stalfos charging at me.  
  
I felt nothing, but my head was finally clear. It was a good thing too, because Nayru's love was starting to wear off. When I looked again, I saw the stalfos once again getting back up off the ground.  
  
I backed up a bit, far enough so that he couldn't reach me with his sword.  
  
"Aww, look," he sneered. "The coward's running away!" The mob behind him laughed at this.  
  
I took out my bow and aimed an arrow at the laughing stalfos leader. He was still laughing as I took him down and out with a single well-aimed shot to the skull. The other five stalfos in the mob gasped in horror as their fallen leader slowly faded into nothing.  
  
"You," said one of the remaining stalfos. "You're gonna pay for that!"  
  
The other five charged at me, and all hell broke loose.  
  
***  
  
I swiped my sword again and again, half the time not even sure if I was hitting my mark. I could smell blood. Probably mine, because I don't think undead skeletons bleed. I felt the impact of another sword, but the pain didn't follow. I was too caught up in the battle to feel pain. The pain would come. Later, after the adrenaline rush of the battle wore off.  
  
I had managed to take out two of the six, but the other three were still fighting hard, and I was wearing out. Three against one, not my idea of a fair fight. Well, maybe three against two. Navi helped me the best she could.  
  
"Behind you!" Navi shouted. I whipped around just in time to see the sword heading my way. I dodged, just in time. The blade sliced past me, embedding itself in the dirt. I would have aimed for the stalfos while he was still trying to yank his sword out of the ground, except that would have made me a clear target for the others.  
  
I took out my Din's Fire crystal, and threw it to the ground. It released a circle of fire, starting at me and spreading outwards. Two of the stalfos had enough sense to block the hit, but the one who was concentrating on removing his sword from the dirt wasn't so lucky. When the fire ceased all that was left of him was a pile of charred ashes, the same kind you might find in a burnt-out fire pit. 


	4. Chapters 7 + 8

A/N: Chapters seven and eight are now here for your enjoyment. At least, I hope you'll enjoy it. I guess I'll never know unless you leave a review. . . *hint hint* These two chapters are a tad longer than the others, it looks like.  
  
Chapter 7  
  
With only two remaining, I had a better feeling about the outcome of this battle.  
  
"Let's do this," I said to Navi.  
  
"You focus on the first one while I distract the second one," Navi whispered.  
  
"Uh-huh,"  
  
Navi started glowing bright red again, flying over the second stalfos' head, annoying, distracting, and temporarily blinding all at once. He started blindly waving his sword around, trying to rid himself of the blinding light bulb with wings.  
  
I focused on the other skeletal warrior. He slashed. I slashed back. I could see that he was pretty beaten up. One well-aimed hit was all it would take. I was about to deliver that final hit, when suddenly:  
  
"Aaaaah!"  
  
The other stalfos had hit Navi with his sword!  
  
"Navi!" I yelled, turning around. Was she all right? No way to be sure. I turned to face my enemy again, but too late! He put up his shield and shoved me down in to the dirt. He raised his sword.  
  
"I'm gonna love doing this," he muttered. The other one walked over. If I tried to roll away, I wouldn't make it two feet. I was tired anyway. Worn out from the past hour of solid fighting. Navi was hurt, and possibly . . . I didn't want to think about that. The stalfos raised his sword and-  
  
"Phhht!"  
  
His blade stopped in the air about an inch from my face.  
  
I didn't wait for a second chance. I rolled out from underneath the frozen sword and past the other puzzled stalfos. I was almost as puzzled as he looked. What had happened? Suddenly, I realized. I looked down to see the deku scrub.  
  
"Serves you right," the deku said smugly, staring at the paralyzed stalfos. Then the blade came all the way down, hitting the dirt.  
  
I gulped. That had almost been my face.  
  
"Phht!" the scrub shot some more deku nuts. "Phht!" Both Stalfos were frozen on the spot! Knowing that this was only a very temporary arrangement, I took advantage of the opportunity to deliver the final blow.  
  
The last stalfos unfroze, still ready to fight. He looked around. He was all alone, and he knew it. It was him and me now. One undead skeleton against one tired, bleeding, and very ticked off Hylian. I was not going to lose this fight.  
  
***  
  
It was all over very quickly. I had slashed him in about five different places in the time it took him to get in one swipe. He evaporated, leaving behind a single magic container. I snatched it up. But . . .  
  
"Navi?" I called. I turned to the deku scrub. "Where's Navi?"  
  
"I'll help you look," it offered. We looked around.  
  
"There!" it pointed over at a small clump of grass, and I ran over.  
  
"Navi?" I asked, picking her up. "You all right?"  
  
"Ugh," she groaned, taking to the air. "I think so. What happened? Did we get 'em?"  
  
"This little deku scrub saved my sorry butt," I admitted.  
  
"Aww, I didn't do that much," it said shyly. "My name's Milo. What's yours?"  
  
"It's Link," I answered, suddenly sitting down. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, all the pain came back in a rush. I had to lie down.  
  
"Link!" Navi cried, rushing over. "Are you ok?"  
  
"I'm . . . fine," I gasped. I needed a red potion. The damage wasn't fatal, but the pain was almost unbearable. If I didn't get one fast, I was afraid I'd pass out.  
  
"Here," Milo offered, holding out a red potion. "Drink this."  
  
I gulped it down as fast as I could. I pain ebbed, and I sat back up.  
  
"Whew," I panted. "Where... Where did you get that?"  
  
He grinned in deku fashion, with his eyes only. It's sort of hard to imagine, but you'd know it if you saw it.  
  
"I'm a business scrub. You'd be surprised what a business scrub carries around."  
  
I looked him over. "You don't look like a business scrub," I said.  
  
"Well," he admitted. "I guess I'm not *technically* a real business scrub, but I do collect lots of useful stuff. I try to sell whenever I can."  
  
"Oh," I said, standing up. "Well, thanks."  
  
I turned to leave, and Navi followed.  
  
"Wait!" I turned around. Milo gazed up at me admiringly. "Thanks for what you did. Saving my life."  
  
"I didn't do what I did because I especially like Deku Scrubs, all right?" This was only partially true. I don't like seeing the innocent get hurt, but I do have a bit of an attachment for deku scrubs, which I gained back in Termina (forgive me if I have the name wrong, k? It's been I while since I've played).  
  
"Then... Why did you do it?"  
  
I wasn't totally sure how to answer this question in words, so I decided to illustrate. I took out my Deku mask. The mask, showing a deku's face, was covered in a thin coat of dust. The color had faded with age, seven years to be exact. This mask held many memories. Memories of places and people I wasn't sure that I would ever see again. Tatl and Tael, two fairy siblings. The Skull Kid, a misunderstood forest child. The Bombers gang, mayor Dotour, Madame Aroma, the postman, Lulu, Romani and Cremia. So many others, now whom I could only visit in my memories.  
  
"Wow," Milo marveled. "That's a really realistic mask! Where'd you get it? But . . . What does this have to do with you saving me?"  
  
"Well, for one thing," I began. "I don't want to see innocent people... Or deku scrubs, killed. That is, assuming that you are innocent. Why were those thugs after you?"  
  
"I, um, sold them some bombs."  
  
"Why is this a bad thing?"  
  
"They blew up almost as soon as they were lit. I knew they were too cheap to be true when I bought them! Then I gave them some free bombs to make up for the mistake. These ones were worse. They blew up in their ugly faces. I wasn't my fault, really! They were from a faulty dealer."  
  
"Ah," I said. "Now watch." I proceeded to put the mask on. Nothing happened.  
  
"Is something supposed . . . to . . ." Milo started, trailing off suddenly. For at that moment, the mask began to shine. Everything exploded with light as this brightness covered me, preventing anyone from seeing me for the moment.  
  
I couldn't see anything myself, but I could feel. I could feel my body changing, my inside re-arranging itself. My organs changing position, some shrinking, some disappearing all together. I could feel my mouth melting away and my nose elongating, being replaced by a long, hollow nose- slash-mouth designed to spit deku nuts. The pain was intense. I couldn't stop my self from letting out a scream, but the pain stopped as suddenly as it came. All of this in a total of about thirty seconds. The light slowly dimmed, the transformation complete.  
  
It had worked. The mask still contained its magic, even outside of Termina. I looked at my hands.  
  
I was a deku scrub.  
  
Chapter 8  
  
"Whoa!" shouted Milo. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! You're, you're a..."  
  
"A deku scrub," I finished for him. I was still somewhat surprised myself. I wasn't really sure that it would work if I wasn't in Termina. For another thing, I wasn't just a child deku anymore. I was subtly different. A little bigger, more shaped, and yet still the same deku as I used to be whenever I put on the mask, seven years ago. My voice was just a pitch lower, not quite as squeaky. Older, that was it. I had aged, and so had the spirit of the deku, inside the mask.  
  
"Great Farore!" Navi exclaimed. "Link, you never told me you could do that!"  
  
"Just a little uh, souvenir from Termina," I tried to explain. "When I first came to Termina, the Skull Kid trapped me in this form, only younger. I was able to get out of this form with the help of the happy mask salesman, he turned the curse into a mask, so I wouldn't be trapped permanently. Now I can become I deku scrub whenever I need too, and um..." I stopped. Navi and Milo stared at me with blank faces.  
  
"And Termina is . . ." Navi inquired.  
  
"Another land. You didn't think Hyrule was the whole world, did you? I had to save Termina in three days, with Tatl's help, because the moon was going to fall. But I could repeat those days over and over using the song of time. I needed this mask, along with two others like it to help me..." I gave up. What was the use? It was clear that Milo didn't understand, and Navi seemed more than a little skeptical.  
  
"My life seemed so simple before this moment," Milo said. "But whoa. I mean WHOA. You put on this, mask, and poof! You turned into a deku scrub!"  
  
"That about sums it up," I confirmed. "I feel so . . . short."  
  
"Well," Milo looked my deku body over. "Now I don't feel quite so out of place. I figured a deku in the Forest Temple looks somewhat suspicious.  
  
"Good point. I'd better take this off."  
  
"Aww," Milo whined as I took off the mask.  
  
The brightness once again enveloped me as I shifted back to my normal form. It happens more quickly when I take the mask off, maybe about ten seconds. Not to mention, it doesn't hurt when taking the mask back off.  
  
"Well," I said to Navi. "We'd better get going." I started walking towards the well at the other side of the courtyard. Navi and Milo followed.  
  
"Oh, no you don't," I stopped him. "Where do you think you are going?"  
  
"With you." He answered.  
  
"Uh, I don't think so." Navi intervened. "Whatever gave you that idea?"  
  
"Link saved my life," he said flatly. "I'm staying with you guys until I can repay you somehow."  
  
"You already did," I pointed out. "With the stalfos."  
  
"Pleeeease?"  
  
"Oh, all right," I sighed. "As long as you're no trouble. Got that?"  
  
"Oh, absolutely!" Milo squeaked happily. "I won't be any trouble at all!"  
  
"You'd better not be," I told him. "Because the real fight may be still yet to come."  
  
***  
  
We trekked on through one of the two courtyards to the next room. Here there was a staircase leading downwards. I remembered this. I went halfway down the stairs, then looked behind me. Sure enough, there was the empty frame. But there was no Poe sister attempting to hide in it. I walked all the way down the stairs, checking the walls. There were three frames, like I remembered. But no poes. The stairway lead to a dead end at the bottom, the doorway barred off. So back up I went, re-checking the empty frames on my way up. Nothing.  
  
I walked back through the courtyard. The same courtyard where I had been fighting for my life only about half an hour earlier. I considered jumping down the well, but it was full and I was not in the mood to get wet. I wasn't in the mood for much anymore now. I was getting tired, and Navi, well. Let's just say she wasn't helping.  
  
"Hey!" she cried suddenly, nearly scaring me out of my skin.  
  
"What?" I yelped shakily.  
  
"Did you notice that? There's something over there!"  
  
"It's just a bush," I said, annoyed.  
  
"Wait a just minute," Milo said, concentrating. Sure enough, it rustled ever so slightly. Stupid of me. I should have noticed that. I was getting too tired to pay attention.  
  
"Hey! Whoever you are, show yourself," I ordered. "Now!"  
  
The bush stopped rustling.  
  
"Milo?" I asked  
  
"You got it, Link." He answered. "Ph-ph-ph-pht!" and three deku nuts went barreling in the direction of the bush. Three blinding flashes followed, forcing me to cover my eyes. I then hurried over to the bush. I checked behind it, finding myself staring at a temporarily frozen creature.  
  
"A wolfos?" Milo asked as it unfroze. "But I thought they were usually brown?"  
  
"This is a white wolfos." Navi said.  
  
"No duh,"  
  
"No, I meant that's what they are called."  
  
The white wolfos made no attempt to hide or run for cover. It merely looked us over as I kept a close eye on it.  
  
"White wolfos usually live in cold climates," Navi explained.  
  
"So what is one doing here?" I asked.  
  
"Um, I think they are actually just wolfos with a camouflage adaptation for the snowy terrain. They're a bit stronger than the average wolfos." She continued. "If they ever move to a warmer place, their fur undergoes a gradual change from white to brown so that they stay camouflaged. So maybe this one just came here recently, and hasn't been here long enough to change colors yet"  
  
The wolfos suddenly made a dash for another bush.  
  
"Wait a minute," I said as I moved to block its path.  
  
It growled and leapt at me. I moved to the side slightly so as not to be barreled over by it. It went sailing past me, so I jumped again, this time towards it. We ended up in a tangled heap as I struggled to gain control. I grabbed at its front paws, making it fall over. Then I grabbed its back paws too, rendering it helpless.  
  
"Well," I muttered. "Now what?"  
  
"Maybe we ought to, you know," Navi suggested. "Get rid of it?"  
  
"But why didn't it attack?" I countered. "It only ran away."  
  
I kept my eyes on the wolfos, never looking away. We stared at each other for a long time. I blinked.  
  
"You lose."  
  
"What?" Navi, Milo and I all jumped at least a foot. Well, at least Milo and I did.  
  
"Did. Did that wolfos just.?" Milo stammered.  
  
"Yeah, I did." It answered as the three of us just stared gaping. "You blinked. You lost the staring contest. Hey, come on, stop staring at me like that. What's wrong with you?"  
  
"Okay," I answered, suddenly defensive. "Who are you, and why can you."  
  
"Speak?"  
  
"That would just about sum it up," Navi answered.  
  
"I would consider it if you would be so kind as to let go of me." I released its legs.  
  
"You make one move, and I'll sick this here deku scrub on you,"  
  
"Oh, well then." It rolled its eyes, something I had never seen a wolfos do. "Guess I better watch myself."  
  
Milo glared at him. 


	5. Chapter 9

A/N: This is as far as I've gotten so far, so this is only 1 chapter. Sorry!  
  
Chapter 9  
  
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Glacier, a white wolfos from the very edge of Zora's domain. I am one of the only sentient wolfos "  
  
"Why are you here, then?" I questioned. No answer. "Well?"  
  
"The Polio Shadow summoned me here."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"Not what, who. Polio Shadow is a great beast from another land. It can see inside your mind, seeing your most secret fears. It feeds on your fears, using them against you. It is the very image of fear."  
  
"Uh-huh." I said. "So, why does this.Polio shadow. want you here?"  
  
"I myself have only just come. I do not know. I-"  
  
"Oh no you don't!" A voice shrieked angrily from behind me. I spun around to discover Amy. Returned for her revenge, I figured. I let Glacier go in the process, but again he made no attempt to run. He just sat there, waiting to see what would happen.  
  
"You thought you had me, didn't you?" She smirked. Actually, I figured she'd be back, but she didn't need to know that.  
  
"Haven't you had enough pain?" I enquired. Amy did not scare me in the least. As the youngest of the Poe Sisters, she was the least experienced.  
  
"You shut up!" She whined. "Yes, I know you beat me, but that never really happened! I've learned from my mistakes."  
  
"So, what now?"  
  
"Jo! Get out here!"  
  
A second Poe appeared beside her sister.  
  
"What do you." she started. "Hey! It's Link!"  
  
"Joelle." I stated simply.  
  
"That's Jo to you! I'm going to make you pay for what you did! No, wait, it never really happened, but. you still knew you defeated us, and we knew, so does that mean. Oh well. It doesn't matter. All that matters is that I'm gonna hurt you so bad!"  
  
I sighed.  
  
"You don't have to do this," I offered. "You could just give me the torches and-"  
  
"Not a chance!"  
  
A third Poe appeared beside her other two sisters. This one was Beth, the second oldest Poe Sister.  
  
"Link, right?"  
  
"Uh huh."  
  
"You are not getting the torches back that easily." Beth promised. "You'll have to fight us for them first!"  
  
"Gladly!"  
  
I grabbed my quiver and reached for an arrow. Three Poes, that would take about sixteen hits all in all. I counted my arrows, and cursed under my breath. Only ten. I knew I should have stocked up before coming here.  
  
***  
  
Author's Note:  
  
Eh, what do you think? I'm sorry, it was awful of me to leave you like that, wasn't it? I'm also sorry that it was so short, but this is as far as I ever got.  
  
I noticed that the writing quality seems to get better the farther you read, but this was started before I had really gotten 'into' writing fan fics, as I've already told you. As I'm not quite obsessed with the game as I used to be, it's doubtful that this will ever be completed. Of course, with the Christmas holidays fast approaching, some good reviews may persuade me to make good use of all that extra time. 


End file.
